What a wonderful list. I've added the ones I haven't read yet to my GoodReads list -- about half of these are new to me! Also -- I read The Summer Book this past January when I was at my Dad's house for 2 weeks getting it ready for closing. (He passed away in Aug 2024). One might think that this books would be too "literary" to read doing such an emotionally and physically demanding task but it was not. It was exactly what I needed. Something I could read for a bit before bed that was so lovely, uplifting, fun and evocative. I could actually SEE the Northern Summer Light as I read it!
Wow, some great books here. I work in a bookshop and host the mystery bookclub and we are reading Ordinary Grace this summer. I am forever pressing that book into customer's hands. One of my all-time favorite books is The Shell Seekers by Rosmund Pilcher. Always makes a great reread in the summer months for me. Thanks for the great suggestions.
Even though its not exactly a mystery, I always think Peace Like a River by Leif Enger has a similar nostalgic vibe. I often compare OG with the movie Stand By Me so I wonder if the novella The Body (that its based) by Stephen King would be similar. Also I just love William Kent Krueger and have read all of his stand alone novels and some of his Cork O'Conner novels.
These are good recs! I love Leif enger. Have you read any of Richard yates's stories or novels? They have a similar vibe to OG depending on the work. I love Yates and have been slowly working my way thru his oeuvre the last 2 years or so BC I will be sad when there's nothing left to read by him 😥
Love your list. I have read A Month in the Country and The Remains of the Day for the first time this summer. I am going to look for The Summer Book. Thanks for the recs!
Hope you like the Summer Book! I read it in 1 day, it's pretty short. I didn't realize that going in (was reading over ebook) and it was suddenly all over way before I was emotionally ready for it.
Thank you for this list! It also inspired me to start re-reading The Almost Sisters, which is a quintessential summer book for me, but which I haven’t read since 2018 or so.
The Almost Sisters looks really interesting! I love literature of the US South, especially in summer (and anything set in the South feels like summer to me b/c no matter what time of year it is in the South, it's almost always hotter than where I live lol).
What a wonderful list. I've added the ones I haven't read yet to my GoodReads list -- about half of these are new to me! Also -- I read The Summer Book this past January when I was at my Dad's house for 2 weeks getting it ready for closing. (He passed away in Aug 2024). One might think that this books would be too "literary" to read doing such an emotionally and physically demanding task but it was not. It was exactly what I needed. Something I could read for a bit before bed that was so lovely, uplifting, fun and evocative. I could actually SEE the Northern Summer Light as I read it!
Wow, some great books here. I work in a bookshop and host the mystery bookclub and we are reading Ordinary Grace this summer. I am forever pressing that book into customer's hands. One of my all-time favorite books is The Shell Seekers by Rosmund Pilcher. Always makes a great reread in the summer months for me. Thanks for the great suggestions.
Ordinary Grace is sooo good! Do you know others with a similar feel?
Even though its not exactly a mystery, I always think Peace Like a River by Leif Enger has a similar nostalgic vibe. I often compare OG with the movie Stand By Me so I wonder if the novella The Body (that its based) by Stephen King would be similar. Also I just love William Kent Krueger and have read all of his stand alone novels and some of his Cork O'Conner novels.
These are good recs! I love Leif enger. Have you read any of Richard yates's stories or novels? They have a similar vibe to OG depending on the work. I love Yates and have been slowly working my way thru his oeuvre the last 2 years or so BC I will be sad when there's nothing left to read by him 😥
I have not read Richard Yates before! What do you recommend starting with?
I think I started w a collection of short stories called 11 Kinds of Loneliness and that's what got me hooked!
Love your list. I have read A Month in the Country and The Remains of the Day for the first time this summer. I am going to look for The Summer Book. Thanks for the recs!
Hope you like the Summer Book! I read it in 1 day, it's pretty short. I didn't realize that going in (was reading over ebook) and it was suddenly all over way before I was emotionally ready for it.
Thank you for this list! It also inspired me to start re-reading The Almost Sisters, which is a quintessential summer book for me, but which I haven’t read since 2018 or so.
The Almost Sisters looks really interesting! I love literature of the US South, especially in summer (and anything set in the South feels like summer to me b/c no matter what time of year it is in the South, it's almost always hotter than where I live lol).
Thank you for sharing.